Monday, December 31, 2007: New Years Eve
I was back in to Toronto today to rehearse. We will be playing a few songs at this jam night thing Chris plays every Thursday. We've got four songs running smoothly so we need to get a few more to have enough for half an hour set.
I met up with Chris before hand and we walked down to Spadina to grab some Pho. On the way down we saw some great Chinatown nonsense in some shop windows including a LED flashing Jesus and a bizarre "toy" woman in a toy store window.
Flashing Jesus
Hmmm... That's an odd looking toy...
Is this what you asked Santa for?
After lunch we drove up to Justin's and went through the songs. Some work well and some are a bit shakey. We'll probably get together again tomorrow and go through them again.
Justin's arsenal of bass tones
I took the GO train back out to Oakville and got back in time for people to start arriving for the big New Years Eve dinner. Jayne did up an excellent feed of Thai food which was outstanding. I do miss the food there alot so it was nice to have some familar flavors. It was also my birthday so I was provided with a cake and so forth.
My Cake
Everyone stayed until midnight and watched the big disco-ball in New York come down and then toasted in 2008.
Sunday, December 30, 2007: A Day Alone With Friends
Everyone was out and about this evening so I had a chance to spend some time with a couple of good friends of mine.
My friends I take with me everywhere
I am not sure if the results of my efforts are good but it was an enjoyable time.
Saturday, December 29, 2007: Storm Watch
I came in to Toronto briefly today and took a walk up to Queen Street on my way to Chris and Robin's. Last year Sandy had my old Storm watch repaired and cleaned however the wrist band is now too small and I'd lost the extra links during the great run around of 2001. I had gone into the Storm Store last year when I was here and got some extra links however I didn't have the watch with me and they were the wrong size.
This year I brought the watch with me to try and sort that out. It was fortunate that I'd come in today to try and sort this out as I was greeted with a "CLOSING FOREVER" in 3 days sign when I got to the store. It turns out the store's lease is up and the owners have doubled the rent so all the shops on that one strip are closing as of January 1st. The owner sorted me out with the right size link and the watch can once again be wore.
I ended up meeting Chris at the Chinese restaurant on Spadina that we used to frequent back in the before time called Rol Sum but always referred to by us as "The Neon Lobster" due to it's window decorations. We had a great meal then walked back down to Queen Street. We stopped at HMV and poked around. I had a couple HMV gift cards from Will and Alexa but really didn't see anything there I particularly wanted. No wonder record stores are going out of business. They don't stock anything you'd want to buy. I've had far better luck finding obscure stuff on iTunes.
Afterwards Chris walked with me down to Union and I caught the train back out to Oakville.
Heading to Union
Tuesday, December 25, 2007: Christmas 2007
The kids were up and about at around 5:00 am this morning. Their first action of the day being to wake everyone else up in the house whether they liked the idea or not. I must admit I was quite comfortable in the music room as the temperature in there is well above freezing - unlike the suite.
The massive Christmas stockings everyone had were opened first. This process took a while due to the size of the stockings and because it was done in order from left to right or youngest to oldest or perhaps from most awake to least awake.
Both Will and Alexa discovered brand new cell phones in their stockings which was the cause of much joy and excitement. The remote control fart machines that seemed to distributed generously to the males were also quite popular. After the stockings had been delt with we retired to the kitchen for some pasteries and tea or coffee before assaulting the main presents.
A snack before the present opening begins
The gift opening commenced and carried on for some time. Nothing really topped the cell phones though.
I went for a run this afternoon and when I got back a few more folk had arrived. There was a big dinner tonight complete with Christmas cake (which I don't really like) and the traditional pudding that gets set on fire. Which I must admit is how I feel it should be delt with in accordance to how it tastes. So perhaps traditions die because of folk like me who'd rather eat a box of Sweet Tarts.
The Cake (the icing was excellent though)
burn baby, burn...
After the big clean up from dinner people hung around for a bit then headed off in various directions. I relocated myself back to the suite.
Monday, December 24, 2007: Christmas Eve
Today was largely spent cleaning up things around the house in preparation for this evening. Paul's family are staying over so I relocated myself from the suite (for his parents to use) to the music room.
Jayne and I did some last minute shopping this afternoon then had some lunch at the Thai-Vietnamese place we ate at the other day. It was quite good.
This evening we went to Knox for the Christmas Eve concert. Alexa got to play Mary in the traditional retelling of the Christmas story. Paul narrated and was also the lead sheppard. There was a great deal of singing provided by various age groups, and as the Christmas tradition dictates the smallest relying on the cuteness factor over vocal ablities to steal the show.
Ready for Santa
Sunday, December 23, 2007: Christmas Shopping
The bathroom night-light; I am still waking up at 4:00 or 5:00 am
Arriving at Union Station
I took the GO Train into Toronto and took the TTC up to the Grape Fruit Moon this morning. Sunniva was on shift today. I had a wonderful breakfast and just hung out for a while.
Brunch
Jayne, Paul, Will and Alexa came in to the city to have their annual Christmas photos take with THE REAL SANTA who for those interested is on 5th floor of The Bay store at Yonge and Queen. I headed down to meet them and did my shopping Christmas Shopping along the way. My wallet is a little lighter now.
I got all my shopping done then met up with them at the Bay. I arrived earlier than I'd expected to and was drafted into the Christmas Photo. Afterwards a little more shopping was done while Will and I wandered the Toy department which had been pretty much been picked clean.
We headed out and were greated with a clearing sky and a beautiful sun set that was reflected off some of the glass towers and reflecting on the old City Hall.
The sun set
From another angle
The drive back to Oakville
We drove back to Oakville and had an outstanding meal at a Thai-Vietnamese restaurant called "Land of Smiles". The food was excellent.
Saturday, December 22, 2007: Rehearsing
I took the GO Train in to Toronto this morning and took the TTC up to Bathurst then walked up to the Grape Fruit Moon.
The TTC
I got there around 11:00 am and already the place was pretty busy with brunch-eaters. Due to the coming holidays the GFM was only open from 10:00 am - to 4:00 pm today.
The brunch crowd
I had an outstanding breakfast then Chris showed up and we headed over to Justin's to go through the Snowmelter songs we plan to do when we know where and when we're doing them. If we are doing them.
We rehearsed until about 5:00 pm then Chris drove me over to Bathurst and Bloor and dropped me off there. I had to meet up with L for dinner so we met at the Panzerottie Village Cafe which was a regular spot for us back in 1988/89 when we lived in the area. L showed up at around 6:30 pm and we had dinner and hung out then she gave me a ride back out to Oakville.
Monday, December 17, 2007: Bad News
I heard from Sandy that her Brother in law UK Mike who's been in the hospital in attempt to clear a vascular clot from his leg has actually lost his leg due to an infection. Sandy's been taking care of Minn while Lut stays at the hosptial with Mike. All very exausting for the entire family and a difficult situation for Sandy to deal with on her own.
It is cold!
Sunday, December 16, 2007: Snow Day
I had planned on going in to Toronto today to meet up with folk at the Grapefruit Moon in the afternoon and then see Nash the Slash in the evening at the Black Swan however Old Man Winter had another idea.
The pool is closed...
Not going anywhere...
This was supposably the biggest amount of snow to fall in one day since 1949 or something. In any event I was snowed in as was everyone else.
Narnia?
A view from the garden...
Prior to dropping my camera
Jayne, Paul and the Kids stayed home from Church which I believe was a first due to weather and we had some breakfast. Then Alexa wanted to go out and play in the snow so I accompanied her with some toboganning down the hill. We were soon joined by Jayne and Will.
Princess Snowpants preparing for another downhill run...
It was all good winter fun which ended with the traditonal some one gets hurt crying and snow in the trousers. I also dropped my camera in the snow which is not advisable. Amazingly it still works.
I took this as I was trying to rescue my camera from the snow. I believe it is my glove...
Jayne and Paul's friends Connie and Mark had a Birthday party for their 3 year old planned for the day and didn't cancel it. They live with in walking distance so at around 2:30 pm we geared up and did the ten minute walk in a record twenty minutes.
Off to the Birthday party...
Walking over to Connie & Mark's
We arrived just as the magician arrived. He'd actually come in from Toronto and we all were amazed at that itself. He was actually great and entertaining for both the kids and the grown ups. He even had a real rabbit which Connie and Mark's dog Lucy was rather excited about until they put her out of the room.
Mark & Connie's downstairs Christmas tree and robotic Christmas Moose
After the Magician was done it was cake time followed by presents then it was on to general hanging about, talking, munching on snacks and enjoying the outstanding game room which featured a full size proper pool table and a 1981 style video acade game with both Ms. Pac Man and Galaga in it. I would guess that I haven't played Galaga since 1982 or so.
The "grown ups" continued to play pool and drink while we kids watched "Shrek" and munch on treats until Pizza was delivered. After the movies the kids ran about until some one was injured indicating it was time for the grown ups to call it a night. We left at around 9:00 pm and made the ten minute walk back in about fifteen minutes. I strangled taking photos and eventually fell but managed not to put my camera in the snow although pretty much everything else went in.
The walk back ...
Saturday, December 15, 2007: To Toronto
No evidence of global warming at the GO Station...
I took the GO Train in this morning with all the Christmas shoppers and Santa Seekers. I went up to the GFM (which was packed) and waited for Chris to show up. He eventually arrived in the Mirth Mobile and we drove over to Justin's for some Snowmelter rehearsing.
Winter arrives on Justin's street...
When we came out it had snowed quite a bit and seemed to be gearing up for more. Chris had a gig so he dropped me off at the Subway and I caught the train down the Union then caught the 7:43 westbound back to Oakville. I hadn't eaten and had missed dinner so I got a burger before I got back. All the Christmas decorations were up in and around the house when I got back.
The Christmas tree in my suite...
Friday, December 14, 2007: In Oakville
Today I was logistically unable to leave Oakville so I didn't. I spend the evening with two good friends that I have brought with me while everyone else was out.
Novation XioSynth & the Zoom MRS8, now a year together...
Thursday, December 13, 2007: Visa
I had not planned to go into the city today however I had to head in to pick up my passport. I took the train in and got my passport back complete with a brand new 1 year multiple entry visa. There is always some degree of uncertainty as to whether or not I will receive the stamp. Not getting it would be a massive bother.
Once I had picked up my passport I really had no other plans so I walked up to HMV and tried to find the new Jean Michel Jarre 30th anniversary re-release of "Oxygene". I wanted the version that included a live DVD of the tracks being played. They didn't have that copy at the Yonge Street store however they called over to the store at Queen and John and had them hold it there for me.
I walked over and stopped by my old barber's on Bay Street just north of Dundas St W. It has a new owner now, my old barber Rocco having passed away a few years ago. I got a cut and then headed on to the other HMV and picked up the CD/DVD. It started to snow quite heavily as I headed over.
I poked around HMV some more but didn't really see anything I wanted so I decided to walk over to Steve's Music. I went into the keyboards and was overwhelmed by all the gear I would love to have. They had a Moog Little Phatty and a Moog Mini Moog Voyager. I tried the Little Phatty last year but didn't have time to try the Voyager this time. I had to head back to Union Station as Jayne and I were going to go get some lunch at Stoney's in Oakville.
GO Train in the snow
By the time I got down to Union Station it was really snowing hard. The ride out of the city was beautiful but I am sure it would have been less so if I'd been in a car driving in the resulting traffic. It was still snowing when I got to my stop where I met Jayne. We had our lunch and the snow had died down by the time were done.
Snow...
This evening after Will and Alexa got home from school I went out in the back with them and helped them make a snowman. Possibly the ugliest snowman ever made but it was great fun none the less. There was also some snowball throwing and sleighing down the hill which ended as it got dark and we were all too cold to continue.
The Backyard Winter Wonderland
The Snowman... "Angus McDogpooh"
He appears to be an angry snowman...
Wednesday, December 12, 2007: Revenge of Jet-Lag
I have been trying to adjust myself to the lost of 12 hours from the trip back... Today however the jet-lag caught up with me and basically slept all day only waking long enough to eat a bit then fall back to sleep again. Hopefully I will have adjusted by next week.
I got a message this evening from the Royal Thai Consulate that my Passport is "Ready" to be picked up. I will assume that means my new 1 year visa is in it but I won't know for sure until I see it with my own eyes.
Tuesday, December 11, 2007: Snowmelter Rehearsal
Today Justin had the day off so I went into Toronto and met up with Chris then headed over to Justin's to rehearse. We are still unsure of a gig date although a short set on the 3rd of January is a strong possiblity.
I had brought in Chris' Strat which I'd borrowed but he had brought his acoustic so I ended up using the GR 300 once we got to Justins.
Chris on acoustical madness
We ran through some of the Snowmelter standards such as "Old New Song" and "Cyndi On Sunday" and battled it out with "Mellotron" which I had forgotten much of. By the end it was starting to sound reasonable. We have also come up with a very reasonable version of one of my exile tracks "Buggered Eyeball" which works surprisingly well with Chris pounding out the foundation on acoustic while Justin plays the newly repaired Rheem KeeBass.
Justin demonstrates the repaired KeeBass... Wow! It's actually in tune!
The KeeBass is now more in tune than it ever was back in the glory days of old. I have to say that for moving air the KeeBass' single analog oscillator is more powerful than the XioSynth's 3 virtual ones.
This guitar weighs a ton...
The GR300 seemed to have a few problems at first and i was concerned that time and lack of use may have rendered it untunable. However by the time we had been at it for a while it seemed to have heated up enough that the oscillators would stay in tune and it sounded quite good. Contending with the weight of the 2010 controller guitar was interesting as was trying to find a balance with the various pedals in conjunction with the GR 300's sound. The GR 30 is a completely different beast to deal with.
Many pedals... from right to left... The GR 300 analog guitar synthesizer, the Zoom G1 multi-effects digital stomp-box with foot controller, the Digitech DigiDelay and on to my old practice amp.
Monday, December 10, 2007: Visa Application Submitted
I went in to Toronto this morning and put in my Class B Visa application. Hopefully they will stamp it as they have in the past. There are alternative solutions if it doesn't happen but they might prove to be even more expensive.
Afterwards i went up to the Annex and had some food at the Grapefruit Moon. I walked around a bit then headed back out to Oakville. I still haven't adjusted to the time change really. I find I am knackered by about 8:00 pm.
Sunday, December 9, 2007: Picking Up the KeeBass
I went in to Toronto today and headed up to the Grapefruit Moon for breakfast. Sunniva was working again. Justin M showed up around noon and we headed back over to his place and went over a couple of Snowmelter songs. I broke out the GR 300 and battle with that. Its been a long time.
We only practiced for a short time and then we had to drive out to the Beaches to pick up the Rheem KeeBass. Justin dropped it off to be repaired a few weeks ago by a fellow who specializes in fixing both Church organs and old analog gear. It was malfunctioning badly due to reasons unknown. It cost 80 $ bucks to fix it. We picked it up and Justin drove me over to Union Station. I grabbed the GO Train back out to Oakville.
Saturday, December 8, 2007: GFM SMLTR PVC
I took the early train into Toronto this morning. Once in I took the TTC over to the Bathurst Station and walked up to the Grapefruit Moon for breakfast. Sunniva was on shift. I sat at the counter but it took her a minute to realize who I was which was amusing. We haven't seen each other since October of 2000.
I had breakfast and hung out there until about noon then walked down to Chris and Robin's place. I stopped at a used CD shop on the way and found several CDs I once had and lost during the 2001 period; Scott Walker's "Tilt", Grant Lee Buffalo's "Mighty Joe Moon", and King Crimson's 1984 live double CD "Absent Lovers". I also found several CDs which I have never been able to find before namely King Crimson's 1975 live "U.S.A." and an earlier live CD called "Earthbound". "Earthbound" was something I searched for in various record shops throughout my late teen years without success. I always heard about "Earthbound" but NEVER could manage to find it. Until today. Outstanding.
I went over to Chris and Robins and hung out there for a while. Chris informed me of the difficulties securing a night for Snowmelter to play. Each night that comes available is booked before we can confirm the date. We still went through some of the more likely Snowmelter songs that would be played as well as a couple others. Hopefully we willl manage to find somewhere.
At around 4:00 Chris and I walked up to the Panzerotti Village Cafe on Markham and had a meal. The pasta there is so good. I could barely finish my portion though. I'm no longer used to such large amounts of such heavy food.
We walked up to the GFM afterwards and I got a ride back out to Oakville with Jayne.
Friday, December 7, 2007: Still Adjusting
I need to go into the City soon but I'm still adjusting to the time change. Losing 12 hours is not an easy one.
Will demonstrates his Star Wars first person shooter game...
Thursday, December 6, 2007: Jet Lagged
Jet Lag means waking up at 4:00 am and watching reruns of Star Trek: Voyager by the fire.
Tuesday, December 4, 2007: The Big Fourth
Well today was not the typical Tuesday. Today was my flight back to the Cold Northern Country from which I came. I was up and about early doing what few things left I had to do in the packing department... Then at around 8:00 am I headed out. Sandy didn't come to the airport with me this time. The new airport isn't set up for that really and the distances involved once you've checked in and gone through customs don't give much time for sitting and saying goodbye. So she came down to the street with me and helped me wave down a taxi. We said our goodbyes and then I headed off to the airport.
As much as there are some problems with the new airport one thing I do like about it is the check in and customs proceedure. Both are simply faster than the old one. However then I had to hike over to my gate. I had about half an hour so I grabbed a tea then went through the security process. Then at the gate I waited with everyone else to board.
The first leg of the journey was to Hong Kong. The plane was pretty empty and it was my first ride on the newer Boeing 777. What an outstanding plane. Very roomy and comfortable and with a solid feel to it. The flight was fine. Three hours later I was in Hong Kong.
Bangkok Airport
The first leg of the trip
Over the Isan
Hong Kong
Once in Hong Kong I had to go through security again then head over to the gate and wait around. We boarded and were searched again just before we got on the plane. Then I found my seat and settled in for the LONG flight to Toronto.
Here's a travelers tip. If your carry on bag is too heavy for you to put in the over head thing. Then it's probably too heavy. I may not aways be around to assist you.
Our cramped rattling Airbus
The first part of the flight to Toronto is the distance between Toronto and Anchorage, Alaska where we stopped to refuel. we fly up over Japan, over the international date line then on to Alaska. We were on Airbus and I really wish it could have been the 777. It was cramped and rattled about with any turbulance and the foot rest thing which seems to have been designed to serve Hobbits kept falling down on my leg the whole way. I couldn't just leave it down because then I had even less room. Who exactly does Airbus think flies on their planes?
On our way
guess...
Slow progress
I passed the time listening to music and looking out the window. They fed us of course then the lights were dimmed to induce sleep. I slept very briefly for about then was awake for the crossing of the international date line and the trip to Alaska. I wish that I had the means to photograph the night sky. The moon was up and set in this amazing see of stars. Absolutely beautiful. The flight was for the most part very smooth this year. In fact I'd say apart from some bumpy spots over Japan it was on the whole the smoothest flight back I've had. Normally the patch between Russia and Alaska is very unpleasant.
We got in to Alaska at around 9:00 am their time. The sun was just coming up. As of this year they have changed to proceedure and where as before we'd just sit in the plane, now they hall us off and march us through US Customs. As a Canadian-born passport holder this means nothing to me as all they do is swipe my passport. But those not holding Canadian passports or those not born in Canada were photographed and electronically finger printed. I am not sure why this is necessary as we are not actually entering the US but there is no arguing about it. Everyone wandered around in this tiny area in the terminal which had a little coffee stand and a little store that sold various mugs and so forth. They had little "Eskimo" dolls that all looked like Sandy.
Eventually we were herded back on to the plane and off we went with lots of fuel and a new flight crew. I hauled out Lappy and worked on a song while I recharged my iPod. I took various tracks from several previous songs, chopped them up, changed their pitch, ran them through some filter emulations, mucked about with them and assembled them in Acid Pro. The result was appropriate for such a high altitude with so little sleep. Afterwards I packed up Lappy and made an attempt at sleeping. I had limited success.
Leaving Anchorage
Over the Rockies
The last leg
The longest part of the journey for me seems to be the distance between Thunder Bay and Toronto. For some unknown reason THAT spot is like Leonard Nimoy narrated "In Search of... The Bermuda Triangle" espisode. It is as if time itself slows to a crawl and we just hang there over lake Muskoka. The screen says its only another 43 minutes but those will be the longest 43 minutes of your life.
The second longest part of the trip is the DRIVE from the runway to the terminal. I guess when you have so much land to use, you use it but it seems ridiculous.
Once we were parked and disembarked I walked the great distance to Canada Customs. They were much more friendly this year for some reason. In 2004 and 2005 they were down right rude. What ever they've started putting in their coffee seems to have worked and I had no problems with them although I had to explain the same thing to three different people at three different check points; the entry que, just before picking up my luggage and before I left the luggage zone to go out into the public area.
I had arrive ahead of schedual so I just waited outside in the loading zone for Cousin Jaybird and Associates to come and claim me. It was cold but after being in a confined place for so long I didn't mind it.
Back in the cold
Monday, December 3, 2007: Monday Images
The Construction continues...
The Amazing Doraemon Scooter
I am cat-like robot motorcycle...
Sunday, December 2, 2007: Pluk's Birthday
Today was Pluk's birthday so we went over to Sandy's Sister's for that in the afternoon. As some of the King's Birthday Celebrations were held today traffic was snarled and rerouted.
We hung out most of the day. Pet and Dang were at the weekend market so we didn't have the cake until much later when they got back. Traffic was a factor in that. Sandy and I went over to the restaurant by the Khlong and got some food to bring back.
Afternoon sunlight on a poster of the King
Khlong Life
The blue boat
The Squid vender goes uphill
Pluk had a good Birthday and the cake was excellent. We headed back to the apartment at around 9:30 pm. Again traffic was heavy.
Saturday, December 1, 2007: Saturday Paragon
Sandy had to go help her Sister at the watch shop today so I went and got my hair cut then wandered over to the Paragon.
Christmas at the Siam Paragon
The place is well decked out in Christmas decorations however with the King's Birthday next week there was a great deal of goings on and decorations in relation to that.
I went up to Starbucks for a Ice Latte and spent some time looking at a bunch of very good paintings that were done in honor of the King. Afterwards I headed back out and the space between the Paragon and the Siam Center was filling up with some sort of King related concert event. They had HUGE candles all set up to be lit at a specific time. I didn't stick around for it and walked back to the apartment.
Big Candles
A closer view
A concert or something
